Friday Email Bag

Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions, please email me at [email protected]

Mickey,

The QB race will be the most interesting race we have seen in quite some time. I think the wild card is Cooper. If he has the reads down, he seems to be the right choice, but until he has live bullets thrown at him, you just don't know. I feel the same about Hunter Johnson. Having watched Kelly, he is a run first QB. He can extend plays but pulls the ball down too quickly. I'm not convinced QB is the best position for him. He needs to be on the field, but not sure what would be the right fit. The key for Clemson will be our ability to run the ball and take pressure off of the QB. Defenses will test us early.

Stuart

Stuart,

There are so many questions. I fear some fans may have categorized Cooper wrong. Sure he has the strongest arm, but there is a lot more to the position than arm strength. Has he improved his accuracy? How well does he read the defenses? What kind of leader is he? This is what this spring will be about.

Johnson throws a beautiful ball, but again there is so much more to playing the position, and it is a big jump from Indiana high school football to Clemson football. This is what his spring will be about.

I agree with most fans that think Bryant will be beaten out eventually, but I don't know that for sure. I think there is a chance he could still win the job.

Hi Mickey,

I took my family of 4 to the Clemson/Syracuse Basketball game on Tuesday night. We had a terrific time getting into tigertown from western NC. We only get down for a game or two a year. I have always supported Clemson Basketball. I understand the challenges, including the current coaching situation. I am down on the Basketball program, to be sure! I’m not sure what to think about coach Brownell. I feel bad. Period!

However, I wish to voice my grip with the Athletic department and the new facility. The new facility is nice. My little boys enjoyed it, but not more than when we saw the last game ever played in the old John! Tickets cost me approx. $160—painfully so. I was appalled that there were arguably more Syracuse fans in LittleJohn than Tiger fans. The game atmosphere was great for Syracuse. It was abysmal for the Tigers. Would it not be beneficial to TIgernation to lower the ticket prices significantly to get fans into the facility? It was embarrassing in my opinion. We paid way too much money to have that many empty seats. I feel the basketball experience is nearly a rip-off. Winning would help. But lowering ticket prices and doing promo tickets (and giving away free ones) instead of feeding the pizza to the students would be better!

Radakovich needs to take a serious look at promoting Tiger Basketball. Perhaps, they could get Dabo and Turnipseed involved!

I am incredibly disappointed—even though I enjoyed a game that turned out bad. If the economics don’t change, I doubt my family will plan on two games next year!

TIGERNMF

TIGERNMF,

I hate that you guys had a bad experience and I agree about the tickets. It seems to me that simple supply and demand would drop the prices significantly. I am not sure what the answers are. They can promote more and drop ticket prices but winning is the real cure, and I am not sure how or when that will happen.

Dear Mickey,

I'm sad that Adrian Baker is leaving the program. Now my last memory of him in a Clemson uniform is him missing a key tackle on third and long against Alabama that pretty much ended the game for us in the 2015 national championship game. I was so hoping that he would end better in a Tiger uniform.

David

David,

He missed the tackle, but others also missed assignments on that play. He is not the reason Clemson lost that game. He busted his butt for this place, and I won't remember him for that play. Baker is a good kid, and I wish him well.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

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